Calvary Episcopal Church
Memphis, Tennessee
February 2, 2003
Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple

A Mixed Bag of Sundays
The Rev. Canon William A. Kolb

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
(This sermon is also available in audio.)

Okay, we need an answer here. What Sunday is this? Last Sunday was Epiphany III and next Sunday is Epiphany V. So it's the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, right? I don't know for sure. Because it is also, as indicated in our prayer book, a very special feast day, "The Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple." So maybe that's what we celebrate and observe and try to give some meaning to today. But wait - I see in the church calendar that it is also Candlemas Sunday - a somewhat unfamiliar observance but also scheduled for February 2nd, a date whose dance card is filling up fast. AND, lest we forget, if it's February 2nd, isn't it also Groundhog Day?

So what Sunday is it? All right, sometimes we can get at the truth by a vote. How many here (everybody has to vote, now) think today is the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany? How many think today is "The Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple?" How many think this is Candlemas Sunday? And how many think today is Groundhog Day?

Last question: How many think it is silly to include Groundhog Day in this set of questions?

Well, I thought it was silly, when reading about "The Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple," my reference source, www.desperatepreacher.com, said, "See also groundhog day." I really found that ludicrous, UNTIL I looked it up. Guess what I found? It said, and I quote:

In the U.S., Groundhog day is the day that the groundhog predicts whether spring will be coming soon. If on emerging from his hole, he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, spring is imminent. The tradition stems from English beliefs about seeing shadows on Candlemas.
Frank Schaefer, desperatepreacher.com, ©2002

Well, back to our question: is this Epiphany IV, The Presentation, or Candlemas? Let's hear a bit more about The Presentation and maybe things will clear a bit:

In the Christian church, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is a celebration of the presentation of the infant Jesus and the post-childbirth purification of Mary in the Temple, in accordance with Jewish law. The Greek Church calls it Hypapante ("Meeting") in reference to Jesus' meeting there with Simeon, to whom it had been revealed that he would not die before meeting the Messiah. The festival of the Presentation is first documented in Jerusalem in the late 4th century; the custom of observing it with lighted candles (the source of the name Candlemas) dates to at least the mid-5th century.
Frank Schaefer, desperatepreacher.com, ©2002

So we know one thing from this: The Presentation and Candlemas are always together, as Candlemas is in fact, an accompanying, glowing, honoring of the Presentation.

And the Presentation itself? Did it take place because the baby was Jesus? Or was it a regular, everyday Jewish custom with new babies? Well, here's what The Rev. Samson Gitau, author, theologian and Episcopal priest says:

This feast was based on the old Jewish theology that everything that we have belongs to God. This is still true. Firstborns in particular are a great reminder of this fact. They belong to God. The only way of keeping your firstborn…is by redemption or "buying them back." Parents would take their firstborn to the temple and sacrifice a lamb to redeem their child. The poor ones like Mary and Joseph were allowed to sacrifice a pair of pigeons.

Presentation is an oblation; that is, an offering of ourselves, our lives and labors in union with Christ for the purposes of God. We symbolize this in the Episcopal Church when oblationists bring forth to the altar the elements of communion during the offertory. We present to God, and God takes, blesses and gives back to us.

In this special day there is a kind of looking back at Christmas (the joy of hearing once again the Good News of the birth of God's special One into the world) and looking at Lent and Good Friday, which are fast approaching. We hear Simeon sound that note when he says to Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul, too."

In a way, then, this is a bittersweet liturgy, a bittersweet observance and lesson.

So this day is the day of The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and it is Candlemas. For this one day we can forget about Epiphany and Groundhog Day. But what shall we remember? What does all this mean to you and me about our lives, our deaths, our loves, our troubles?

Well, much as we do at Christmas, especially when John's Gospel speaks so beautifully about light and darkness, this Candlemas surrounding of Jesus with light is worth remembering. I saw a powerful movie the other day, The Hours. Depressing but great. As someone has said, it is a dark movie. It starts with a suicide and goes downhill from there. But it also touches many nerves; that is, it contains many universals with which we can all identify. And it reminded me how much we need to remember that God's light always precedes and follows us, not because we are good but because God is God. Only when we close the eyes of our heart and decide that there is nothing but darkness, is God often unable to truly walk with us so that it does us some good.

Another dimension of this piece of Gospel is its bittersweet nature--Christmas and Good Friday. Our nation has taken tremendous pride in our space program, especially in the early days that led to our landing on the moon. What an incredible accomplishment! But life is, in fact, bittersweet, and yesterday we as a nation, and seven families as survivors, suffered the third major tragedy in the 41-year history of those endeavors. We pray that those families and the close friends at NASA will know that the light is there even in the darkness. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, quoted yesterday by the President to the nation,

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

The Chief Executive went on to say, "The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth, yet we can pray that all are safely home." A good prayer.

Another thought about this reading: Simeon and Anna were both people of prayer. They were thus prepared to know Jesus when they saw him. Simeon in particular is described as looking forward to the consolation of Israel. The blessing of God's consolation is available to all who will receive it. This is the lesson of "seek and you will find." When Jesus was born, the voice of God became flesh and came speaking consolation. To each of us here today, the promise comes that the Lord has and will continue to console God's people. God will have compassion on the afflicted, whether it be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual affliction.

And a final thought about what we have heard on this Candlemas/Presentation of Jesus Day: this little baby who has been brought to Temple for a routine rite of passage--similar to our baptism--this little child is declared by the two who received Joseph and Mary in the Temple, the baby is declared to be the unique Son of God. His parents are stunned. No wonder. Yes, wonder!

And the closing line of this reading reminds me of St. John again, who wrote in his first chapter, "…and The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of Grace and Truth." Luke's similar finish, written probably fifty years earlier that John wrote his, is, "The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

That is what we celebrate today, what we offer light to, what we take home to remember.
Amen.

Copyright 2003 Calvary Episcopal Church

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
22When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), 24and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’ 33And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ 36There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. NRSV

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